Stereo (22 page)

“I don’t mean to be vulgar… I’m just saying.  Kissing me has to be the best thing that ever happened to you.”

“Oh jeez, get over yourself.”

“Don’t get me wrong.  It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me, too.”

“Why? Because no one thinks you’re a racist anymore?”

“That’s not why.  I mean, it was in the beginning, but…”

“So what is it now?”

“It’s powerful.”

“Powerful?”

“Yeah, it’s this crazy powerful thing, you and I.  In more ways than one.”

“So why do we need to practice it if it’s so powerful?”

“Think of all the superheroes you know about.  Do you think they got as powerful as they are without putting in a little practice first?  The more asses they kicked the better they got at kicking ass.  We should do the same.”

“You’re crazy, Adam.”

“We’re just practicing.”

Shaun sighed and turned away from him, staring off into space before tossing her head back.  “Fine… but this is just for authenticities sake, Adam.”

When she felt him hesitate, her heart skipped a quick beat, and she hesitated in return.  So when he suddenly cupped her neck and pulled her lips to his, it stole her breath.  His tongue brushed against hers, soft and wet, and her stomach was at her feet.  She felt like she was being dragged down into the most beautiful hell.  She could feel the flames lapping at her toes and roaring up inside of her belly.  She could feel the danger and she could taste it on him.  With every bite, lick, and stroke the flavor of him became a little more poignant than it had been a moment before.  She loved the taste of him, the feeling.  He moved his lips over hers slowly, carefully, but it still burned her up inside.

Adam sucked gently at her lips.  He’d started slow, taking his time, just enjoying the curve of her waist and the way it felt under his slowly roaming fingers.  His spine vibrated warmth all the way up his back when her tongue touched his, and the sensation threw him so far over the edge that he wasn’t able to move slowly and softly for very long.  Before he knew it he was ravaging her, clawing at the clothes on her back that he’d never wanted to rip off more. The feeling of her curls against his skin, her smell, the way she tasted, had him entranced.  He moaned against his will and his hands slid down to the small of her back and under her t-shirt. Her skin was warm against his.

Shaun reached behind her when she felt his skin against hers.  It was too much for her to bear, how good he felt.  When she pulled her lips from his he groaned again, this time in frustration, and leaned in to follow her.  She turned her cheek and cursed herself when he used her vulnerable position as an opportunity to nuzzle her neck, tasting and licking languidly at the skin there, giving it the same violent treatment he’d just given her mouth. 

“Okay…”  She swallowed, jamming her eyes shut.  “I think that was pretty good.  Pretty…. Pretty believable.”  The real word was unbelievable.  It was unbelievable how good his lips felt on her neck--his tongue.  The thought of him moving that tongue lower made moisture rush to her center in waves that stunned her.   “Pretty, uh… pretty believable right?”

“Mmm.”  Adam hummed against her skin, cupping the side of her neck to keep her from moving as he continued his languid assault.

Shaun placed her hands softly on his shoulders and waited until he removed his lips from her neck and met her eyes.  “Do you want something to drink?”  She was trying to gain some control, but the desire in his eyes told her that he wasn’t going to make it easy.

“I’m not thirsty.”

“You want something to eat?”

“I’m not hungry,” he whispered.  Not for food anyway.

“You need some meat on those bones.”

“What, you don’t like skinny guys?”

“I don’t know what I like.”

“Maybe you should find out.”

“I will.  One day.”

“What are you waiting for?”

“For the clouds to part… for the sun and the moon to line up… I don’t know, Adam.”

Adam stared at her and chuckled, but his eyes stayed serious.

She kicked him with the edge of her foot. “What?”

“Hmm…” He closed his eyes then opened them slowly. “Nothing.”

“You’re acting weird.  Well, you’re always acting weird but… you’re acting really weird right now, even for you.”  She shoved him to show she was joking.

“Hm.”

“Hm,” Shaun mimicked, pulling her face into a pout. “I think I’m gonna go get you that beer.”  She went to get off the couch.  “I think you need it.”

“You have beer in this apartment?” He looked up at her as she stood.  “Who bought you beer?”

Shaun’s eyes widened down at him.  “I bought it.”

Adam was skeptical.  He wondered if she had guy friends that he didn’t know about.  Did she date?  Had she been seeing someone before this whole arrangement of theirs was put together?  Was she still seeing someone? 

Shaun’s eyes narrowed under his piercing gaze.  “I bought that beer that you’re always drinking.  It’s disgusting, by the way.”

“So why’d you buy it then?”

“I don’t know.  You and the guys always looked like you were having so much fun whenever you were drinking it, so I figured I’d give it a shot.”  Shaun shrugged.  “Not a fan.”

“So in two days we really have managed to turn you into some raging alcoholic.”

“I took one sip and spit it out.  I almost threw up all over my kitchen floor.  I doubt I’m an alcoholic.”

Adam had to laugh at her. “You’re adorable.”

He always said that to her.  “I’m a woman in my mid-twenties.  I don’t want to be adorable.”

“You’re sexy, too.”

“Well you can’t be adorable and sexy at the same time so now I know you’re lying.”

He continued to watch her.

“Saving all the good words for your songs, huh? I understand.”  She said, making fun of his silence. “Do you want that beer or what?”

“I’ll take a beer.”  He needed one.

“Okay, I’ll be right back.”

Adam watched her leave and waited for her to turn the corner into the kitchen before he buried his head in his hands.  As he listened to her rustling around in the kitchen all he could think about was how badly he wanted to rip her clothes off.

“Hey can I ask you something?” she asked from the kitchen.  The sound of a beer bottle cracking and swishing open followed her question.

Adam took his head from his hands.  All he wanted to do was walk into that kitchen and throw her up against the counter.  He wanted to know what color panties she had on, how easy it would be to rip them off.  He wanted to know what the rest of her body tasted like, not just her neck and her lips.  He wanted to consume her in the worst way, but he knew he couldn’t do that to Shaun.  She was too good, too pure. He’d never been with a woman like her so he had no idea what angle to use.  He wasn’t even sure if he wanted to use an angle.  She was too good for that. “What’s up?”

Shaun circled the corner with a beer and a soda, handing him the bottle as she curled her feet under her ass. “What happened between you and Veronica?”

Adam groaned.  It was a lot different from the way he’d been groaning during their kiss.  All the passion was gone and had been replaced with a touch of annoyance and even a little anger.  “She…”  He looked at her.  “She… “

Shaun’s eyes were wide, ready and interested in whatever it was he was about to say to her.

Adam’s eyes searched hers.  “She… wasn’t right for me.”

“Why?”  Shaun’s eyes grew bigger.

“I was sure that she was the one.  Not a doubt in my mind.  Turns out she wasn’t quite as sure about me, so…”  He shrugged and took a huge swig of his beer.  “That’s the name of that tune.”

“It’s not my favorite.” she whispered.

“No, mine either.”

“So… why do you think she showed up in Sydney?”

Adam was already in the middle of another huge swig of his beer.  “I don’t know, Shaun, why are you asking me this?”

Shaun was struck at the tone of his voice.  “I was just asking.  Jesus.  If you don’t want to answer then you don’t have to.”

“Okay.  I don’t want to answer.” He looked back at her and saw that she was now curled up in the farthest corner of the couch, avoiding his eyes and focusing way too hard to sipping her soda.   He jammed his eyes shut.  He’d just bitten her head off and he hated that. Veronica always brought out the worst in him.  “I’m sorry,” he said.

“It’s okay,” Shaun immediately accepted.

“She just makes me…”

“I get it. I totally get it.”

“So you’ve got some guy who pisses you off, too?”

“I mean…”  Shaun trailed off.

She wasn’t taking his bait, so Adam jumped right to the point. “Are you seeing anybody right now?”

Shaun hesitated.  She really needed Celia at that moment.

Adam charged on. “How many boyfriends have you had?”

She was caught off guard by the questions and immediately lied.  “Just one.”

“One?”  Adam’s eyebrows shot up.

Shaun was alarmed at his shock.  If he knew the truth, that she’d never had a single boyfriend in her life, she was afraid he might die on the spot.

“Are you dating somebody now?”

Shaun thought back to the conversation she’d had with Celia.  “Nothing serious,” she whispered.

The look in Adam’s eyes was poignant.   “What does that mean?”

Shaun just shrugged.  Mostly because she had no idea what to say.  What was the right thing to say in a situation like this?  What was the wrong thing?  It had been almost two days since she’d spoken to Celia and she felt like she was slowly drowning during every conversation she and Adam had.  All of the walls she built up between them were slowly falling away without the help of her best friend.  The fact that she and Adam had somehow upgraded to make-out buddies was doing nothing to help her keep a clear head. She missed Celia.  She needed her.

“Are
you
seeing anybody?” she asked, turning his question around on him.

“When would I have time to see anybody?  I have my hands completely full with you.”

“So you haven’t slept with any girls since you and I met?  Not a single one?”

Adam stared ahead, thinking, before he finally answered.  “No.”  He sounded just as surprised as she felt.

“You know you can still have sex with other girls.  You don’t have to stay faithful to your girlfriend if she’s not really your girlfriend.”

Adam didn’t know what to say to her, so he continued to quietly sip his beer.

The sly smile on his face was throwing Shaun for a loop.  “I mean, you’re a rock star.  You must have been having a lot of sex before I came along.”

“Yeah, I was.”  He finally looked at her and had to take a deep breath when their eyes met.

Shaun was holding her breath. Just looking at him was turning her on in ways she could never explain.  This kissing game they’d taken up was quickly proving to be a very bad idea.  “You can have sex with girls if you want.  That’s all I’m saying.  No need to get blue balls on a count of me.”

“You’ve been celibate all your life and you’re perfectly fine.  What makes you think I can’t do the same?”

“I’ve done enough Google searches on you to know that you’re a sex maniac, Adam.  Who do you think you’re kidding?”

“I love sex.  I do.  Guilty… but I’m not a maniac.”

“Google never lies.”

“Oh no?”

“No.”

“What else does Google have to say about me?”  He took a sip of his beer, never breaking eye contact with her.

Shaun blushed.

Adam sat up. “Oh no.  Don’t go getting all coy now.  You started this.”

“Okay.”  Even though she could feel a sweet anxiety rolling around in her belly, she had to look up.  “It says that you have a different girl in every city.  You’ve had a woman in every country.  You’ve taken Asia, Australia, Africa and most of Europe.  The women you entertain… they’re all goddesses and they make themselves available to you come rain or shine.  And that you have your certain…” she tried to find the right words, “talents.”

“Talents?”

“Hey, this is Google talking not me.”

“What kind of talents?”

Shaun sighed, feeling like he was playing with her.  She knew that he knew exactly what she was talking about.  “Is it true, or what?”

“Is what true?”

“Your talents?”

“What talents?” he asked, again.

Shaun tilted her head at him.  “Don’t play dumb.  I think you know exactly what ‘talents’ I’m referring to.”

“Maybe you and I could try it out.  Then you could let me know if the rumors about my ‘talents’ hold any weight.”

Shaun was blown back.  “Are you… are you… hitting on me?”

He didn’t hesitate a second.  “Yes.”

Shaun shifted under his steady gaze.  “Well… no.”

“No?”

“No,” Shaun confirmed.  “It’s not the kind of ‘practice’ that I want TMZ to catch on camera.”